This is a book of research and policy aimed at raising ethical standards in criminal justice practice. Around the world, corruption continues to undermine the rule of law and the application of due process rights. Misconduct by criminal justice professionals challenges democratic authority and the equality and freedom of ordinary citizens. There is an urgent need for academics, advocates and policymakers to speak with one voice in articulating universal ethical standards and, most importantly, in prescribing systems and techniques that must be in place for criminal justice to be genuinely accountable and as free from misconduct as possible. The focus of the book is on the core components of the criminal justice system - police, courts and corrections - and the core groups within this system: sworn police officers; judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers; and custodial and community correctional officers. By using quality research and policy analysis of these core components Professor Prenzler formulates a basic checklist that can be used to assess the ethical quality and accountability of the criminal justice system in any jurisdiction.

Author Biography

Tim Prenzler is Chief Investigator in the Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security (CEPS)and manager of the centre's 'Integrity Systems' Project, as well as a Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. He has developed and taught courses insituational crime prevention, security management, criminal justice ethics, social justice and police studies. He has also contributed to a number of textbooks and co-edited An Introduction to Crime and Criminology (Pearson, 2007, with Hennessey Hayes). Tim's research focuses on the application of crime prevention principles to corruption and misconduct, especially misconduct amongst police and security providers. He is the co-author of The Law of Private Security in Australia (Thomson Lawbook, 2009, with Rick Sarre).